Cyclopropylnitrile is a vital raw material in the manufacture of herbicidal agents. It is particularly useful in the manufacture of herbicidally potent, yet environmentally benign 1-(o-cyclopropylcarbonyl)-phenylsulfamoyl urea derivatives. The preparation of cyclopropylnitrile from 4-chlorobutyronitrile is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,709. However, when this preparation is applied to a manufacturing scale, an unstirrable mass forms causing decreased reaction yield, broken or damaged equipment and problematic product isolation.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide an improved process for the manufacture of cyclopropylnitrile which is suitable for large scale production with increased isolated product yield.
It is another object of this invention to provide an efficient and effective method of isolation of cyclopropylnitrile in high purity and with essentially no water content.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a convenient and economic source of essential starting material in the production of herbicidal sulfamoyl urea derivatives.